Former nurse accused of transmitting sexual images from patient’s phone to his own is found guilty of misdemeanor, but felony charges are dismissed

Mark Luis, 36, of South Elgin, was found guilty on a misdemeanor count of computer tampering. (DuPage County sheriff's office)

A former hospital nurse accused of accessing private sexual images on a patient’s phone was found guilty this week of a misdemeanor, though a DuPage County judge dismissed felony counts against him.

Mark Luis, 36, of South Elgin, was found guilty Wednesday on a misdemeanor count of computer tampering for sending himself erotic images that the female patient had taken of herself. Judge Brian Telander, who presided over Luis’ bench trial, dismissed felony counts of computer tampering and nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images that Luis faced.

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Authorities said in November 2016, Luis accessed the cellphone of a woman who was receiving outpatient treatment for substance abuse issues at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. Luis sent himself about 75 erotic images and videos the woman had taken of herself.

Luis was able to access the phone that the woman had turned in to hospital staff as part of her outpatient treatment, authorities alleged. He later sent her a text message, and when the woman did not recognize the telephone number, she began investigating and learned her phone had been accessed. She called police, who arrested Luis.

Luis’ trial began Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Telander dismissed the felony counts. The judge said that while he believed the victim’s account and that Luis had sent himself the images, the act did not rise to the felony level of computer tampering, according to prosecutors. Telander, though, did find Luis guilty of a misdemeanor count.

The judge also found that Luis had not broken the dissemination of sexual images law, since Luis sent the images only to himself. The law does not define “dissemination,” so the judge relied on a plain language understanding, which calls for a broad spread of information, prosecutors said.

Luis is scheduled to be sentenced on the computer tampering count on Sept. 13.